This is the first book in the Enchanted Galaxy Series, which is a contemporary fantasy romance. It’s about a college student who learns she is to be the queen on another planet. As a warning, this is in first draft form. I’ve decided to give it a complete rewrite. Yes, the same events happen in it that happened in the original stories, but my voice and style has changed since 2003 and I want to make this the best book possible.

Quick note: On the planet Raz, the word “queen” is always capitalized. This is not the case for “king” since the king is second to the Queen. The Queen is the most important person on the planet and as such is given prominence. I only mention this because if there are any typos in this sample, the way I use the word “Queen” is intentional. 😀

Anticipated release month: Since this is a rewrite (and not something I am creating from scratch), I expect to have this out in May.

As the teacher at the front of the room droned on and on, Ann yawned from the back of the large classroom. She had two more years of her undergraduate study before she could get her master’s degree, but she had yet to decide what to get that degree in. Did she want to spend her days listening to people talk about their problems? Or did she want to go into the more scientific area of psychology where she’d have spreadsheets of data to analyze? No matter how much she struggled with trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, she kept coming up blank.

Pushing aside the ever-ending question about her future career, she focused on what the teacher was saying.

“Cognitive appraisal theory is a theory of emotions,” he said in monotone as he clicked the projector to show the definition on the screen. “This is the official definition, but in a nutshell, it states that the way a person perceives something contributes to his or her emotional response to it.”

She stretched the kink in her neck then wrote down the definition on her notebook. Yawning again, she glanced at her watch. When would class be over? She continued writing what he was saying but it was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open. In fact, at one point she blinked several times and straightened up in her seat.

But in a couple minutes she yawned again. A swirl of purple smoke drifted around her, and her mind drifted off into a fog-like state. She leaned forward and fell to the floor and jerked with a start.

What the…?

She blinked and assessed her surroundings. She was in her apartment, face down on the floor. But how in the world did she get here? She was just at school for goodness’ sakes! She rose to her feet and turned around in time to see a young blond-haired man standing in front of her.

She opened her mouth to scream when he clasped his hand over her mouth. “Please don’t scream. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Like she believed that one! She’d seen enough TV shows to know that situations like this never ended well. After considering her options, she gave him a nod. He released his hand and she let out the loudest shriek she could muster.

He spoke a word and her voice went silent. Not taking the time to figure out how he managed such a feat, she bolted for the door, but then he said another word and she froze in place.

This wasn’t possible. First, she couldn’t scream and now this? Just what was going on? She tried to turn her head in his direction but couldn’t. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and looked toward it. Well, at least she could move her eyes. That was something. It wasn’t much, but she’d take whatever she could get right now.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he walked in front of her. “I just got to this planet and thought the easiest way to find you was to summon you to your dwelling.”

Planet? Summon her? Dwelling? Just who was this freak?

“First, I have to make sure you’re the right person.”

He reached out and took her left hand and turned it over. She wanted to pull back her arm but, of course, she couldn’t. She was powerless against him. He could do whatever he wanted to her and she’d be at his mercy. She wished she could go unconscious. She didn’t want to be awake when he did whatever he had in mind to her.

He smiled and released her hand. “Wonderful! You have the birthmark.” Then, to her surprise, he bowed before her. “You’re the next Queen of Raz.”

What a psycho.

Then she thought of how she suddenly appeared here. Okay. He wasn’t the only thing psycho about this whole thing. There was definitely weird other stuff going on.

Maybe she fell asleep in class. Of course! She was having a dream. Now it all made sense. And that explained why the stranger in her apartment wore a silk white shirt and silk black pants that were tucked into his black boots that reached his knees. No one in their right mind wore such ridiculous clothes, unless it was Halloween.

But she needed to wake up. Even if this dream was a lot more interesting than the teacher, she couldn’t keep napping. She blinked several times but she was still in her apartment.

“It is my privilege to introduce myself,” the stranger said. “My name is Hathor and I am from the planet Raz in the Enchanted Galaxy. I am to bring you back with me so you can be the next Queen. Upon our return, it will be my great honor to protect and serve you.”

Why couldn’t she wake up? Usually when she realized she was dreaming, she could pull out of it. So why not now? Come on, Ann. You’re in the middle of class. Wake up!

“You see,” Hathor continued, “my mother is the current Queen, and she’s due to step down from the throne on her next birthday. The planet needs another Queen to take her place. You’re the one who has been chosen for this task.”

This was ridiculous. Never in her life did she have such a persistent dream. With a sigh, she tried to answer him, thinking it might speed up the whole dream faster if she talked to him, but her mouth wouldn’t move.

“Oh! Of course. In my excitement, I forgot I unfreeze you.” He uttered a foreign word and her body relaxed, as if someone had been gripping her and had finally released her. “There. That’s better.” Then with a wider smile, he added, “I can’t believe I’m actually here. I could hardly sleep at all last night. I was so excited about meeting you. And, if you don’t mind me saying so, you’re the loveliest woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Uh…okay.” Just how was she supposed to respond? “Thanks?”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me. You are the most important person on Raz.” She didn’t think it was possible, but she thought his blue eyes grew a little bit brighter. “I just can’t believe my good fortune. You probably hear how pretty you are all the time.”

Well, maybe she should keep trying to wake up, but it was rather nice to be told she was pretty so it wouldn’t hurt to sleep just a little bit longer. Besides, the class was a big one and she sat in the back. No one probably even knew she was taking a nap.

“So,” she began, “I’m supposed to be a Queen on another world?”

“Yes. The Great Magician let me borrow his Book of Spells so I could come here and get you. When you arrive, my mother will transfer the crown to you and you’ll take her place.”

“Wait. Your mother is the Queen?”

“Currently, yes. But you will be the next one.”

“Hold on. Doesn’t that make you a prince? You can be the king.”

“It used to be that way on Raz centuries ago, but not anymore. The Queen must marry and have a daughter in hopes of having an heir to take over the throne, but my mother only had me and I’m not able to assume her crown. That’s why I have to bring you to Raz.”

It wasn’t the most logical story she’d ever heard but then she figured dreams didn’t require logic to be believable. At least it was an interesting tale.

“And,” he continued, “if I protect you on the way to Raz, I get the high honor of marrying you.”

He stopped talking, an indication that he hoped she’d respond. “Um…alright,” she finally replied with a shrug.

His smile faltered. “Don’t you believe me?”

“Sure. I mean, it makes total sense when you consider everything else that’s happened. Me appearing in my apartment, you freezing me in place, me ruling a planet in another galaxy, and you marrying me… It makes perfect sense when you put it all together.” At least it did in dream logic.

“It’s important that you believe me. Someone or something out there doesn’t want you to be the Queen.”

Now that was an interesting twist she didn’t expect. “Okay.”

By the way his face fell, she gathered he didn’t like her reaction.

“I could scream again if you want, but then you might make me mute again,” she joked, thinking since this was a dream, he’d laugh.

But as it turned out, her attempt at humor wasn’t even appreciated in the dream world. “This is a serious matter. We’ll need to be vigilant on our journey.”

Before she could reply, her cell phone rang. “Hold on.” Maybe the dream was going to get even more interesting. Maybe she’d find out the man had really brought her here to kill so the real Hathor couldn’t take her to Raz. Now that would be an even better twist. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jeans and saw it was William. Well, it wasn’t the twist she hoped for but it was one, nonetheless.

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About Ruth Ann Nordin

Ruth Ann Nordin mainly writes historical western romances and Regencies. From time to time, she branches out to contemporaries romances and other genres (such as science fiction thrillers). For more information, please go to www.ruthannnordin.com or check out https://ruthannnordinauthorblog.wordpress.com.